


merry christmas, darling

by elemsee



Category: Ash vs Evil Dead (TV), Evil Dead (Movies), Evil Dead - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Gen, the tiniest hint of angst if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28203666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elemsee/pseuds/elemsee
Summary: "Now come on, you know this time of year just ain't my jam, doll. I'm more of a 'get wasted on New Year's and wake up the next morning not knowing what decade I've just seen in' type of guy."It's Christmas Day, and you want nothing more than to coax some festive cheer out of the man who hates the holidays more than anyone.
Relationships: Ash Williams/You
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	merry christmas, darling

**Author's Note:**

> This is just some basic Christmas fluff. As we know, Ash Williams deserves only good things. The title of this fic comes from the Christina Perri song of the same name.
> 
> Dedicated to the lovely Shann, who is exceptional at tolerating (and even encouraging) my constant yelling about my new found love for Ash. She's a sweetheart and I love her a lot. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy reading this! Wishing all my readers a wonderful holiday season. ♡

The distant and gentle sound of birds chirping away to one another outside is the first thing that greets you as you awaken. You shift your body slightly, grimacing at the ache in your lower back as you try to manoeuvre yourself — the futon bed in the Airstream was hardly what you'd call ergonomic. It boggled your mind sometimes how Ash could get a decent night's sleep on the stupid thing. 

The thought of Ash sends the corners of your mouth curving upwards into a smile. You roll over to find the man himself still fast asleep next to you, mouth open, emitting gentle snores in his slumber. The beginnings of daylight peek through the half-open blinds just above the bed, illuminating his angular features with streaks of sunlight. You're enamoured with how peaceful and beautiful he looks like that, so quiet and unassuming, worlds away from the braggart he portrays in his waking life. 

As you sit up you turn to face him, reaching out to touch him with a single hand, caressing his cheek softly with your knuckles. You don't expect the gentle movement to rouse him, but he begins to stir, leaning into your touch affectionately as his eyelids flutter open. 

"Well, ain't you a sight for tired eyes," he quips with a grin, his morning voice a touch gruffer in comparison to its usual timbre. His chestnut gaze is intense as it sweeps over you, as though you're the most beautiful thing he's ever laid them upon. 

"You mean sore eyes," you correct him, returning his grin with your own cheeky smirk, leaning forward to plant a kiss on his waiting lips.

"No, I meant tired, but they're sure as hell gonna be sore if you don't pull those blinds shut," he says, pointing to the window above the bed. 

You snort out a laugh. Ash is a grumpy old man at the best of times, but the worst of it generally happens first thing in the morning before he consumes any coffee. He shuffles under the covers, manoeuvring himself to sit up and start strapping on his mechanical hand while you make an attempt to stand on the futon, balancing yourself shakily with your hand on his shoulder as you reach up to pull the blind cord, shutting out the offending sunshine.

The bedroom immediately grows darker, though the bedside lamp still gives enough illumination, as well as the sliver of daylight that dares to peek in through the small gap in the curtain that is, for all intents and purposes, a bedroom door.

As you prepare to rotate yourself to crouch down back into bed next to Ash, you're greeted with the sudden grip of his hands on either side of your body, and you squeal in surprise as he yanks you downwards, forcing you to land right on top of him, straddling his waist. Ash immediately leans in for a kiss, one that's longer and slightly less chaste than the kiss you previously gave him.

"Merry Christmas, Ashy," you say as you pull away, threading your fingers together behind his neck.

"Now come on, you know this time of year just ain't my jam, doll. I'm more of a 'get wasted on New Year's and wake up the next morning not knowing what decade I've just seen in' type of guy." 

You chuckle softly. "What if I told you I got you a gift? Would that change your mind?"

Ash opens his mouth to speak, but immediately closes it again, his head tilting to one side as he considers you with a thankful stare. He looks utterly adorable like that, especially with his tousled dark hair wildly sticking out at all angles. "You did?"

Then, as if by the flip of a switch, that sweet and endearing Ash is suddenly gone, the affectionate look in his eyes replaced with something more primal. "Is it a naughty gift? Are you gonna dress up as a sexy elf?" 

"Rein it in, Williams." 

"Oh, I get it, _rein_ it in, so we're going for a sexy Rudolf kind of situation here —" 

You're already off his lap as he carries on talking, ignoring his libido-driven ramblings to rummage around in the bottom drawer of the dresser. You find what you're looking for, a small blue square box with a gold bow stuck to the lid, and you return to the futon to snuggle up once more beside your beau.

Ash's voice trails off as his eyes find the box clutched in your hands. His lips part slightly as he breathes out a quiet laugh, and he's blinking as though he can't quite believe what he's seeing.

"You _actually_ got me a gift?" 

"Of course I did." You hold it out in front of him, catching your bottom lip between your teeth nervously as you try to gauge his reaction. "Open it."

He grasps the box with a smile, but he doesn't meet your eyes. The energy between the two of you suddenly feels _off_ , and you can't seem to shake it. 

"Is everything okay?" you ask with a nervous laugh. 

Ash hesitates to give an answer — and when he does it's with a start, as though he just had to jolt himself from reliving an uncomfortable memory. "Y—Yeah, I'm all good, kiddo," he says as he glances up, and you know instantly it's a lie, "It's just... been a while since I got a gift. Or... gave one." At once he's away again, deep into his memories, and you don't know whether to shake him out of it or wait patiently while he deals with whatever he's got rattling around in that head of his. 

You give him a moment, but decide to step in when you see his jaw tense up and his eyelashes flutter hurriedly as though he's about to start blinking back tears. "Ash," you say, reaching out to grip him by the shoulder. He flinches, and his tension seemingly dissipates as though your touch has somehow grounded him. 

You flash him a kind smile, opting for silence as you massage soothing circles into his shoulder with your fingertips. You know better than to ask where his mind took him: Ash has always tried his hardest to protect the people in his life from demons, and his personal ones are no exception to that rule. 

"Christmas has always been the time of year where people go home to their families," he says quietly, as though he knows there's a question lingering in your head that he needs to answer, "I don't know. I guess I just never really had that."

You continue to opt for silence, burying your head in the crook of his neck to plant a kiss at the bare skin. He releases a sigh, and you turn your head as you hear the sound of him opening the gift box. 

The gift itself is nothing particularly expensive or groundbreaking: it's a cheesy photo frame keyring, with the word Jacksonville printed on the top in obnoxious neon lettering. Inside the frame is a photograph: just a silly group selfie that you'd insisted on taking with Ash, Pablo and Kelly one morning a while back. The wrinkles at the corners of Ash's eyes are prominent in the photograph where he's smiling so wide — it was one of your favourite aspects of the photo because you treasured being able to see the man you love look so genuinely, unabashedly _happy_. 

"I wanted to combine the place that you love most with the people who love you the most," you say, and you move forward so that you can take Ash's face in your hands. He's breathing through his nose, a little harder than usual, and you know that it's his way of trying to keep his emotions in check. "You don't need to go anywhere to be with your family at Christmas, because we're already here. We're your family, Ashy."

Ash refuses to meet your stare, but you've caused such a deep emotional reaction within him that you know better than to force him to look at you. Instead you reach up to plant a gentle kiss on his forehead, letting your lips linger for a few moments. When you pull back his eyes are firmly fixated on the keyring as he holds it tightly in the grasp of his flesh hand. 

"Thank you," Ash says, finally raising up his head so he can look at you. His lips remain parted, as though he wants to say something else. He can't seem to bring himself to speak it, but you know full well that everything he's ever done for you says it louder than three little words ever could.

He emits a nervous laugh, and it breaks the tension. "I gotta say, baby, I feel kinda bad, I didn't get you anything." Before you can speak a response, he places the keyring on the side table and turns his attention back to you, gently pushing you onto your back before crawling up between your legs to loom over you, a cheeky grin now plastered across his face. "Now, I believe we were saying something about a sexy elf?" 

"Uh, nope, I think that was less _we_ and more _you_ , Ashley," you retort, but there's the beginnings of a wide smile creeping across your lips as you slide your arms up around him, admiring his face in the dim amber glow of the bedroom. He's so ridiculous and cheeky. He's so _beautiful_. Ash. _Your_ Ash. You don't think you could love him more if you tried. 

"Just call me a regular ho ho ho, baby," he says with a wink, and you can't help but giggle as he leans forward and catches you in a kiss.


End file.
